New Point and Shoot??

[magnumrtawd]

I have a Olympus 760 that I wish to replace. It takes good flash and outdoor sports pics. But , indoor sports and low light action shots are noisey.
I realize I need to upgrade to SLR to get good action in doors. I do not want the extra bulk.
I would rather miss that perfect shot then miss the many candid shots i could get with a point and shoot.
What is the newest P/S that comes closer to SLR performance?
I have been looking at a Cannon SD 1400 soon to be released.

[Photo-John]

There is no compact camera that even comes close to DSLR performance. The miniature sensors in point-and-shoot cameras are the limitation. There's really no way around that fact. The compact cameras that currently have the best image quality (in my experience, anyway), are the Canon PowerShot G11 and S90. Canon reduced the resolution on the sensor in those cameras to 10-megapixels. That means the individual pixels are larger and collect cleaner information. Translated - better image quality. I was really impressed with the S90's image quality. You can see a short video and article with some sample photos, here:

Canon PowerShot S90 Video Preview >>

A good compromise between a point-and-shoot and a DSLR are the Micro Four Thirds and other mirrorless cameras. These starting being introduced a couple of years ago and offer DSLR image quality in a smaller package with changeable lenses. If you want a Canon SD-sized camera, then these will still be too big. But if you're looking at cameras like the Canon G11 or DSLR-style superzooms, then I think the Micro Four Thirds cameras are the way to go right now. In particular, the new Olympus E-PL1 is about the size of a G11, but it has a much larger sensor, you can change the lenses, is has 720p video and it only costs $100 more:

Olympus E-PL1 Announcement >>

I was really impressed with the Canon S90. And point-and-shoot cameras have improved a lot in the past couple of years. But there still isn't, and probably never will be, a pocket camera that actually performs like a DSLR. Photography is all about compromises. You never have it all. The trick is to figure out what compromises are best for you.

[apass]

In the meanwhile if you want a cheapy shirt pocket one give a try to the FS7 from panasonic (around 140$ or less) with the Leica 2.8 lens, there are several others from that line but the one that delivers is the FS7 (10MP) specifically -Oh yes, with video and an excellent battery life.

[Adgjqetuo]

I have the Canon Powershot SD800 IS and it takes great pictures for a little point and shoot. My dad bought the newer SD960 and it also takes the same great pictures - I very rarely use the flash indoors and my pictures always have little to no noise in them.